Start with “Why” - Why do we do the work we do?

從“為什么”開始-我們為什么要做我們所做的工作？

The question of “Why” is always a big question. Plus, it always makes you look smart in a meeting!

“ 為什么 ”的問題始終是一個大問題。 另外，它總是使您在會議中顯得聰明！

Kidding. Seriously though, I’ve been contemplating this question for a while. Started my career as a Data Analyst and then moving further towards the direction of data science and programming, I feel sometimes a bit doubtful about whether I’m following the crowd for a trendy career rather than doing what I really care about.

開玩笑的 認真地說，我已經考慮了一段時間了。 從我作為數據分析師的職業生涯開始，然后又朝著數據科學和編程的方向發展，有時我對我是否追隨人群從事時尚職業而不是真正關心的事情感到有些懷疑。

Meanwhile,

與此同時，

“Over the long run, the crowd is always wrong.”

“從長遠來看，人群總是錯的。”

— Seth Klarman, American billionaire investor and author.

—美國億萬富翁投資人兼作家塞思·克拉曼(Seth Klarman)。

You may also have heard of the book “Start With Why” of Simon Sinek. You may even have read it (and never finished the exercises). Yeah, I got you.

您可能還聽說過Simon Sinek的《為什么開始》一書。 您甚至可能已經讀過它(從未完成練習)。 是的，我懂了。

尋找你的“為什么” (Finding your “Why”)

As a Data Scientist (or other data related role) these days, we are lucky to be part of a very fast-developing field. Our work is in (very) high demand. The pay is decent to very good. Be good at what you do, and the world is your oyster.

如今，作為一名數據科學家(或其他與數據相關的角色)，我們很幸運能夠成為一個快速發展的領域的一部分。 我們的工作需求很高。 薪水很不錯。 善于做自己的事，世界就是牡蠣。

But did you ever stop and ask yourself, are you in this *just* for the money? Or maybe you are in this for the fame and respect of others? Or other reasons?

但是你有沒有停下來問自己，你是為了錢嗎？ 或者，也許您在此是為了贏得他人的名望和尊重 ？ 還是其他原因？

It’s not to say these why’s are not valid or worth pursuing. In addition, some of us choose this career simply we find it more intellectually satisfying than any others. However, in the long run, if your work doesn’t connect with any deeper purposes, chances are you will feel empty and hollow.

并不是說這些為什么無效或值得追求。 另外，我們中的一些人選擇這個職業只是因為我們發現它比其他任何職業在智力上都更令人滿意。 但是，從長遠來看，如果您的工作沒有更深層次的目的，那么您可能會感到空虛無聊。

On the contrary, if you can connect what you do with your important values or deeper purposes and meaning, you will be more likely to achieve greater happiness, fulfillment and resilience in your career. It is sort of to achieve the maximum self-alignment in your work and your personal values.

相反，如果您可以將自己的工作與重要的價值觀或更深的目的和意義聯系起來，您將更有可能在事業中獲得更大的幸福感，成就感和韌性。 這是為了在您的工作和個人價值觀中實現最大的自我調整。

Purpose/ Meaning = The values you are willing to struggle for.

目的/意義=您愿意爭取的價值觀。

There are many ways to find your “Why”. I will explore a few methods below.

有很多找到“為什么”的方法。 我將在下面探討幾種方法。

1.找到你的主題 (1. Find Your Themes)

In his book, Find Your Why, Simon Sinek recommended to begin with stories. Stories could be from your childhood, all the way up to your adolescent, and the formative years of choosing your field of study and starting your career. They are stories that connect with you emotionally.

西蒙·西內克( Simon Sinek)在他的《 發現為什么》一書中建議從故事開始。 故事可能發生在您的童年時期，一直到青春期，以及選擇您的研究領域并開始職業生涯的成年時期。 這些故事在情感上與您聯系。

He suggests to do this exercise with your family and close friends to understand more about yourself and your personal “theme”. After that, you craft your own “why” with the format:

他建議與您的家人和密友進行此練習，以更多地了解您自己和您的個人“主題”。 之后，您可以使用以下格式來編寫自己的“為什么”：

To [contribution] so that [impact on others].

要[貢獻]，以便[影響他人]。

What Simon Sinek came up with for himself is:

Simon Sinek為自己想出的是：

To inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, we can change our world. — Simon Sinek

激勵人們做能夠激發他們靈感的事情，以便我們共同改變我們的世界。 —西蒙·辛尼克

2.探索目標層次 (2. Explore Goals Hierarchy)

In the book Grit by Angela Duckworth, she suggests to make goals hierarchy. Essentially, it is to keep asking “why” like an annoying 3 year old to yourself, until your goals converge into a handful of categories.

在安吉拉·達克沃斯(Angela Duckworth)的《 沉著 》( Grit)一書中，她建議使目標層次化。 從本質上講，這是不斷向自己問“為什么”，就像一個煩人的3歲小孩子，直到您的目標收斂到少數幾個類別。

This is my own version of goals hierarchy:

這是我自己的目標層次結構版本：

Q: Why do I want to work as a Data Scientist?

問：為什么我想成為數據科學家？

A: Because I want to use data to solve problems.

答：因為我想使用數據來解決問題。

Q: Why do I want to use data to solve problems?

問：為什么要使用數據來解決問題？

A: Because there are many important problems nowadays that can be solved with data. I think it would be cool to be able to help good businesses and the people around me this way.

答：因為當今有許多重要的問題可以通過數據解決。 我認為以這種方式能夠幫助好的企業和周圍的人會很酷。

Q: Why do I want to help good businesses and the people around me?

問：為什么我要幫助好的企業和我周圍的人？

A: Because many people still struggle to have better and a happier lives. Similarly, businesses (and also nations) want to succeed and develop in a more sustainable way.

答：因為許多人仍在努力追求更好和更幸福的生活。 同樣，企業(以及國家)也希望以更可持續的方式取得成功并發展。

It’s nowhere near exhaustive, but you get the idea. I notice that all my goals in the end tend to converge into a rather altruism type of goals. This may stem from fact that I have a background in Development Economics, and the concept of Donut Economics is highly inspiring to me. I also feel responsible to see many sufferings and injustice in the world that could have been potentially avoided by better technology, efficiency and insights from data. Indeed, it is believed that data science can help solve many of the world’s most pressing challenges.

它遠未窮盡，但您明白了。 我注意到最終我所有的目標都趨向于成為一種無私的目標。 這可能源于我具有發展經濟學的背景，而“ 甜甜圈經濟學”的概念對我來說是非常鼓舞人心的。 我也有責任看到世界上許多苦難和不公義，而更好的技術，效率和數據見解可以避免這些苦難和不公。 確實，人們相信數據科學可以幫助解決世界上許多最緊迫的挑戰 。

This simple exercise is powerful. It forces you to be honest with yourself and get through the shallow level of “having a great career” and “making good money” to uncover your deeper values and purposes.

這個簡單的練習功能強大。 它迫使您對自己誠實，并通過“擁有出色事業”和“賺錢”的淺薄層次來發現自己更深的價值和目標。

3.提出問題 (3. Asking questions)

Asking hypothetical and seemingly childish questions to yourself can be a fun method to brainstorm your why’s. Some of my favourite questions are:

問自己假設，看似幼稚的問題可以是一個有趣的方法，集思廣益你為什么的 。 我最喜歡的一些問題是：

• What’s something you haven’t had that you would like others to have? (explores what you valued but didn’t have in the past, and what you can do to help others being in that situation)
  您希望別人擁有什么您沒有的東西？ (探討您所珍視但過去沒有的東西，以及如何幫助處于這種情況的其他人)

• Gun to your head, if you had to leave the house all day, everyday, where would you go and what would you do? (I took this from one of the articles by Mark Manson, this question explores what you would rather do the most and for what causes)

  如果您不得不每天整天離開房屋，請開槍，您會去哪里，該怎么辦？ (我摘自Mark Manson的一篇文章，這個問題探討了您最想做什么，以及原因是什么)

• How are you going to save the world? (= what you want to contribute the most to the world?)
  您將如何拯救世界？ (=您想為世界做出最大貢獻嗎？)
• If you were going to die 1 year from today, what would you do and how would you want to be remembered? What would be your legacy? What stories when you’re gone? What would you like your obituary to say?
  如果您要從今天起一年后去世，您會怎么做以及您想如何被記住？ 您的遺產是什么？ 你走了什么故事？ 您要ob告說什么？

結論 (Conclusion)

Finding meaning in our work is vital to a healthy and successful career. It helps us overcome the ups and downs in our career, as well as the uncertain times like what we are experiencing today.

在我們的工作中找到意義對健康和成功的職業至關重要。 它可以幫助我們克服職業生涯的起起伏伏，以及克服當今所面臨的不確定時期。

It is crucial for us to maintain the grit and perseverance we need to struggle for what we call “success”, winning the competition and grind on the career ladder. I think it only happens if we find these struggles really worth it.

對于我們來說，保持所謂的“成功”所需的毅力和毅力，贏得競爭并在職業階梯上努力奮斗至關重要。 我認為只有在我們發現這些斗爭確實值得的情況下，這種情況才會發生。